The present invention relates to a liquid crystal substrate inspection apparatus for inspecting a substrate such as a glass substrate of a liquid crystal display and the like, and in particular, relates to a mechanism of replacing a prober for inspecting a substrate.
A liquid crystal substrate has an electrical circuit having plural circuits for driving liquid crystal pixels arranged in a matrix pattern formed on, for example, a glass substrate. A large number of electrode pads are formed around the electrical circuit as electrical contacts. When the electrical circuit formed on the liquid crystal substrate is electrically inspected, a prober with a probe pin electrically contacting an electrode pad of the liquid crystal substrate is used.
The liquid crystal substrates have different sizes, wirings, arrangements of electrode pads, and the like according to applications and specifications. Accordingly, it is necessary to provide a prober corresponding to the liquid crystal substrate to be inspected and replace the prober according to the liquid crystal substrate.
Conventionally, a prober is transported to a chamber manually or with a jig such as a crane to replace the prober. In general, a prober has a weight of several tens of kilograms. Accordingly, a large number of people and labor are required in order to transport the prober manually, and it takes long time. When the liquid crystal substrate is inspected on an inspection line, it is necessary to temporarily shut down the inspection line each time the prober is replaced. In order to shorten the shutdown time of the inspection line, it is necessary to replace the prober quickly. However, when the prober is replaced manually, it is difficult to shorten a time of replacing.
When a prober to be used is selected from plural probers and transported to a place of inspection of the liquid crystal substrate, it is necessary to provide a placing jig at a location where the probers are stored. Then, it is necessary to attach the jig to the inspection device, thereby further taking time. Accordingly, it is necessary to take a large labor force and a long working time for transporting the probers for replacement. Further, it is necessary to provide a rack for storing a large number of the probers, thereby taking a large space.
In view of the problems described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal substrate inspection apparatus for inspecting a substrate, in which it is possible to shorten a shutdown time of an inspection line for inspecting a liquid crystal substrate without transporting a prober manually, and eliminate a space of a rack for storing probers.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.